Fasten your seat belts, England’s new head coach, Eddie Jones, is about to give everything associated with the national side a serious shake. Even those lucky enough to feature in Wednesday’s first squad selection are about to undergo substantial changes to their working lives.

They do not call Jones Fast Eddie for nothing. Gone is the consensual, caring bedside manner of Stuart Lancaster; in his place is the type of rugby doctor prepared to stick his stethoscope where the sun rarely shines. According to sources inside Twickenham, Jones is not convinced England currently have any players worthy of a World XV, nor that they all work hard enough. As initial diagnoses go, it is nothing if not blunt. Those who argue the toss can expect a swift counterthrust. How many Six Nations titles have England won in 12 attempts since 2003? Answer: One. Which top nations did they beat at the last World Cup? Answer: Fiji and Uruguay. Jones is not here to soft-soap English rugby or reassure everyone things are guaranteed to be rosy in four years’ time. He is here – right here, right now – to reintroduce a harder core to the red rose pack, cut a swath through the mediocre and select players who possess what it takes to win Test matches. This is going to be a different England in all kinds of ways.

None of this invalidates the good work Lancaster and his assistants did in nurturing the relationship between the clubs and the Rugby Football Union, re-engaging fans and encouraging players of all ages to aim higher. Gone, though, is any sense of tiptoeing towards success, of sticking with players because they showed promise a couple of years ago, of fast-tracking rugby league hopefuls and then playing them in questionable positions.

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What Jones brings above all is a no-nonsense certainty born of long, successful stints in Australia and Japan. If he fails to resurrect England, it will not be through any self-doubt or lack of workaholic application.

Do not be surprised, then, if some similarly no-nonsense players surface on his watch. Dylan Hartley as captain – all bristle and edge – would be just the start, the Northampton hooker’s sore ribs and form permitting. Welcome to the era of steelier mindsets, basic skills relentlessly honed, unapologetic power and extra pace to cope with an ever-swifter game. Fear of failure is so last year. England may not win this year’s Six Nations but they can be confidently relied upon to give it a rattle. “Ultimately we want to be the most dominant team in the world but to start with we have to beat Scotland,” emphasised Jones on Sunday. “When we go to Scotland we have to make sure the players are well prepared, cohesive and understand their roles … I know the England players we select will not be short of pride and passion.”

The new era could be good news for men such as George Kruis (assuming both he and Joe Launchbury recover swiftly from weekend concussions), the Vunipola brothers and Owen Farrell, all of whom have contributed plenty to Saracens’ fine start to the season. With Henry Slade injured and Manu Tuilagi only just feeling his way back, Farrell could yet be deployed at 12 in addition to fly-half. Jones’s new defence coach, Paul Gustard, remains a committed fan of Brad Barritt but injury to Gloucester’s Jonny May is poised to allow Chris Ashton another chance on the wing. With yet another former Saracen in Steve Borthwick in charge of the forwards, it would be no surprise if Jamie George and Will Fraser are somewhere close as well.

Players with a post-World Cup point to prove – Jack Nowell, Danny Care, Joe Simpson, Danny Cipriani and Matt Kvesic among them – should also interest Jones, along with the cream of the next generation earmarked for the 2019 World Cup. Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie are both injured – Nowell also twisted a knee on Saturday – but Maro Itoje, Elliot Daly, Jack Clifford and Paul Hill all have the ability to represent England with distinction for years. It would not surprise me if Jones’s 33-man squad is split between his current optimum XV and those likely to push strongest for recognition in four years’ time. Such a policy should theoretically give him the best of both worlds and keep his senior pros right on their toes.

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It would be even better if Wasps’ dynamic Nathan Hughes was qualified for England now rather than at the end of June.

Tuilagi will clearly be a key figure in Jones’s back-line deliberations but there seems little point in risking him prematurely against Scotland at Murrayfield on 6 February. Kieran Brookes and Dave Ewers are untimely losses, too, and Jones is also understood to have been monitoring the now-injured Mitch Lees and Mike Williams, of Exeter and Leicester respectively.

The lengthening injury list may, for now, save one or two of Lancaster’s old foot soldiers more than it will invite in those currently sat on the outer fringes. The weekend’s games at Welford Road, the Stoop and the Ricoh Arena will also have further crystallised a good few of Jones’s decisions but one thing is already certain: life under Jones will be anything but leisurely.